NASA scientists and engineers are prepping the , dubbed IBEX, for launch on Oct. 19. The spacecraft will focus its attention on the edge of the solar system where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space, according to NASA.

The announcement comes less than a week after that its Messenger spacecraft was to fly over the planet Mercury Monday, to start taking more than 1,200 pictures and hopefully help scientists figure out whether there is ice on the planet closest to the sun.

The IBEX images hopefully will help scientists figure out the interaction between our sun and the galaxy.

In a press conference Monday, NASA scientists explained that the area is known as the interstellar boundary - the area where the solar system meets interstellar space.

"The interstellar boundary regions are critical because they shield us from the vast majority of dangerous galactic cosmic rays, which otherwise would penetrate into Earth's orbit and make human spaceflight much more dangerous," said David J. McComas, IBEX principal investigator.